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Wednesday, October 30, 2024
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Warren is going sky high! Local flying school opensSTORY: PAGE 2 Record submissions on Regional Telecommunications Review INFORMED views of regional, rural, and remote Australians experiencing connectivity issues, have been heard “loud and clear” following revelations that there has been a record-breaking number of submissions received by the Australian Government’s Regional Telecommunications Review. The Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee published all non-confidential submissions last Friday, which the Committee is currently working through to deliver on its recommendations to Government in the next few months. . The triennial review (held once every three years) plays a key role in seeking to reduce the digital divide between services taken for granted in our cities, to those experienced in the bush. Feedback from the public in previous reviews has already led to policy initiatives and programs such as the Mobile Black Spot Program and the National Audit of Mobile Coverage. A total of 3404 submissions were received for the current review, including 306 written submissions. This is an increase of more than 400 per cent compared to 2021. The easily accessible online survey option — utilised for the first time in a review — drove most of the submissions received, with a total of 3098 responses through that option.
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Council Meeting Highlights October 2024 STORY: PAGE 4
Congratulations, St Mary’s award winners for the week STORY & PHOTOS: PAGE 6
Murray Darling Basin Authority hosts stakeholder dinner By TESS VAN LUBECK AGRICULTURAL stakeholders and Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) representatives gathered at Warren’s Window on the Wetlands (WOW) centre on Wednesday evening to discuss water distribution in the catchment as part of their regional tour. The authority’s primary role is to set the amount of water that can be taken from the Basin each year, while leaving enough for the ecosystem that depends on it for survival. Achieving this balance, known as the “Sustainable Diversion Limit” (SDL), has long been a complex issue, with agricultural, social, First Nations and environmental interests all to be considered. Stakeholders operating on the Crooked, Marra, and Duck Creeks, which are on the periphery of the Murray Darling Basin, were in attendance, as was Mayor Greg Whiteley. Continued page 8
Simon Cant addressing the meeting. PHOTO: WARREN STAR.